Who's preordering X-COM?

[festa_freak]

I played the demo last night and found it fun. I played the original only twice and never beat it (if it was possible).

A few things I didn't like:

I was trying to send a sniper up on a roof when I already had two guys up there. There was other cover for him. I couldn't click on the top of the roof, just inside the building.

The demo ended on such a cliff hanger I now can't wait until the game.

Things I did like:

I liked the exploration. I liked the different skills. I actually thought the cutscenes would be annoying but they added to the game to me and didn't seem over done.

Overall, I think I will like this game and I have no regrets buying a pre-order.

 

[thespyder]

Sorry, but....

I played the demo last night and found it fun. I played the original only twice and never beat it (if it was possible).

LOL....

and

The demo ended on such a cliff hanger I now can't wait until the game.

ROFL.

I would say they accomplished what they set out to do.

 

[festa_freak]

Sorry, but....



LOL....

and



ROFL.

I would say they accomplished what they set out to do.

I gave my impression of the game. No need for this. I know you want to stick to the past. Some people like me didn't play the original much. Crucify me.

 

[thespyder]

Chill.

Wasn't meant as anything other than I thought the comments were amusing. And that the game designers intended the demo to be a cliff hanger to make you want to play it. It's called a teaser.

No offense was intended.

 

[irishScott]

I gave my impression of the game. No need for this. I know you want to stick to the past. Some people like me didn't play the original much. Crucify me.

It's not just here. A couple of my facebook friends who are old-guard X-com fans are already criticizing nitpicking it to death 2 weeks before it even comes out. They've basically made up their minds to hate it already. Which is surprising seeing as how even if it's a complete flop it will likely turn more people onto the original X-Com and increase its popularity.

It seems there's this elitist attitude among many older PC gamers that if you don't believe in having to read a manual/strategy guide to even play a game properly, you're some kind of underdeveloped sub-species. Consolization is seen as a chain around the neck of PC games designed to make them appeal to idiots. Sometimes this is the case, but it can also mean more streamlined gameplay and controls, which in my mind are a good thing. I can tell you right now that the original X-Com's interface blows chunks by modern standards, and it's gameplay could use some polishing as well. Enemy unknown's "consolized" interface solves a lot of the issues while roughly maintaining the same complexity of gameplay. Hell from what we've heard it adds a lot to the original gameplay (new varieties of mission, enhanced air combat, multiplayer, etc).

But just as my Apple fangirl sister took one look at Linux Mint and said "ewww it looks like Microsoft", PC elitists will take one look at this game say "ewww it looks like something I'd see on my friend's X-Box" and discount it; because doing things the unnecessarily hard way is somehow part of their mentality.


Above all else, remember this is the forum where half the population thinks The Dark Knight was "utter garbage."

 

[GoodRevrnd]

For the demo haters:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/25/some-things-you-should-know-about-the-xcom-demo/

 

[festa_freak]

Okay. Thought you were just laughing off what I said. Ok. Got a little defensive of firaxis and what they have done with this game. I think we can all agree it is better than the first rendition of the 'new' xcom game, the FPS. Looking forward to spending some cold winter evenings battling unknown aliens!

 

[thespyder]

I've got no hate for the game. In fact, I hope it is as good as it looks so far. I admit that I have certain expectations, having played the originals. But I also acknowledge that it doesn't have to be a copy of the originals to be a good game.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

From what I can tell in from the demo, it'll be a good maybe great game (better than any other x-com clone), but not absolutely amazing. The concession made for consoles didn't just streamline the interface it dumb down some of the strategy. It's really hard to tell with the demo though it's so stupidly short; I think it was a bad idea for them to release it.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Here were my problems (call me a PC elitist):
Seemed like you started off with essentially mini super troopers, I miss having a few morons with rifles and grenades that could end up ANYWHERE!
Let's be honest, the controlls are really made for a console, a/d to target (left/right control pad), space to enter (essentially x button), super big on screen OK (essentially a 15 foot UI). I still find it hard to believe it is that difficult to make proper menu's for a console AND a PC at the same time.
I'm still not completely sold on the single base idea

What I liked:
Base placement gives different bonuses
looks real nice
appears to have a reasonably well thought out story
guys milling around in the base are nifty
The way the turns works for movement then sprint or combat, ect. MUCH easier than the original's time units (ugh blowing someone up in error with a greenade in their hand)

 

[irishScott]

From what I can tell in from the demo, it'll be a good maybe great game (better than any other x-com clone), but not absolutely amazing. The concession made for consoles didn't just streamline the interface it dumb down some of the strategy. It's really hard to tell with the demo though it's so stupidly short; I think it was a bad idea for them to release it.

How did it dumb it down? It added an automatic cover system, but that was in the original as well; just poorly implemented. I don't consider having to calculate TUs in my head, knowing exactly how many (in intervals of 4, 6, 1, and 2) are needed to walk to a wall and take a knee as "strategy".

Ditto reaction fire vs overwatch. It makes no sense that a highly trained special forces solider has such horrid reflexes that they wouldn't automatically shoot an alien walking directly in front of them ala X-Com original. They may miss if the alien is moving quickly, which is accounted for in overwatch.

Bottom line:

I can't find a single function on that image that isn't accounted for in some way. I fail to see how the strategy is any less. It just seems less because you're thinking more about the strategy and less about minutia IMO.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

How did it dumb it down? It added an automatic cover system, but that was in the original as well; just poorly implemented. I don't consider having to calculate TUs in my head, knowing exactly how many (in intervals of 4, 6, 1, and 2) are needed to walk to a wall and take a knee as "strategy".

Ditto reaction fire vs overwatch. It makes no sense that a highly trained special forces solider has such horrid reflexes that they wouldn't automatically shoot an alien walking directly in front of them ala X-Com original. They may miss if the alien is moving quickly, which is accounted for in overwatch.

I can't find a single function on that image that isn't accounted for in some way. I fail to see how the strategy is any less. It just seems less because you're thinking more about the strategy and less about minutia IMO.

The class system and how it affects who uses what weapons and how that affects weapons progression/research. The global view and how it's operated/how missions become available. The base and how it's setup affects you defensively. There's deeper things that need to be setup simpler because of how the interface is set up. Like I said, it's hard to tell because the demo is so short you need to extrapolate how the features are going to work. Looking at a picture and saying uh looks kind of the same is hardly meaningful.

 

[motsm]

To be fair, my guys shot through walls (specifically corners) several times. I just chalked it up to demo bullshit (who actually releases a good demo these days?). At the very worst that's something that'l be patched quickly.

I imagine it will be patched, but in my case, it wasn't corners.

 

[irishScott]

The class system and how it affects who uses what weapons and how that affects weapons progression/research. The global view and how it's operated/how missions become available. The base and how it's setup affects you defensively. There's deeper things that need to be setup simpler because of how the interface is set up. Like I said, it's hard to tell because the demo is so short you need to extrapolate how the features are going to work. Looking at a picture and saying uh looks kind of the same is hardly meaningful.

Well from what I've read from people who've actually played it (namely rockpapershotgun) the strategy is still very much there on the geoscape. Can't judge for myself for a couple of weeks, but I have no reason to think they're lying or misinterpreting things.

I wasn't showing a picture and saying "uh looks kind of the same". I was showing an array of controls and saying "every rule that governs the original battlescape is implemented" and, IMO, improved.

 

[iCyborg]

For the demo haters:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/25/some-things-you-should-know-about-the-xcom-demo/

From the website:
" it’s a big change and one of the major factors in this being a different take on XCOM rather than a remake"

I haven't tried the demo, but this is the part that I don't like: I don't want a different take, I want a remake.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Well then wait for Xenonauts and pray it isn't too clunky.

X-COM may be my favorite game of all time, but it does have serious issues. Even if you were doing a straight up remake you would need to change a lot. The research tree is largely a joke and most of it serves no actual in game purpose, Psi needs a complete overhaul, weapons need re-balancing all the way up and down (esp blater bombs), and so on.

 

[HeXen]

Developer commentary in the second video on Steam? followed by quotes from IGN and gameinformer of how uber god it is?...lol, yup, guaranteed they screwed it up. trying way too hard.
definitely a pass for me. I pretty much pass up any game that tries that hard these days

 

[irishScott]

Developer commentary in the second video on Steam? followed by quotes from IGN and gameinformer of how uber god it is?...lol, yup, guaranteed they screwed it up. trying way too hard.
definitely a pass for me. I pretty much pass up any game that tries that hard these days

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-forty-hours-with-xcom/

Plus they actually showed us an hour of gameplay. Judge for yourself if they screwed it up, but we've got the most information I've ever seen pre-launch and it all looks good to me.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Well from what I've read from people who've actually played it (namely rockpapershotgun) the strategy is still very much there on the geoscape. Can't judge for myself for a couple of weeks, but I have no reason to think they're lying or misinterpreting things.

I wasn't showing a picture and saying "uh looks kind of the same". I was showing an array of controls and saying "every rule that governs the original battlescape is implemented" and, IMO, improved.

That there's strategy alive and that it might not be as deep are not mutually exclusive.

The rules being implemented has nothing to do with the depth of the strategy. Off-hand, I think a lot of the changes to unit movement and what not are an improvement. I didn't say anything about that though.

 

[iCyborg]

Well then wait for Xenonauts and pray it isn't too clunky.

X-COM may be my favorite game of all time, but it does have serious issues. Even if you were doing a straight up remake you would need to change a lot. The research tree is largely a joke and most of it serves no actual in game purpose, Psi needs a complete overhaul, weapons need re-balancing all the way up and down (esp blater bombs), and so on.

Yes, it did have issues, but these were not game-play mechanics issues: research tree wasn't bad except for issues where researching something out of order can ruin the game, 80 items limit, having to reequip soldiers every mission etc. They should fix bugs and UI like that, add modern graphics, maybe a little change here and there, but one base, 4-6 soldiers, no ammo etc, I dunno, it seems a significant departure...

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Something that occurred to me new XCOM maybe needs... if you take a shot at the beginning of your turn without moving it should be "aimed" and give you a better shot percentage.

 

[irishScott]

Something that occurred to me new XCOM maybe needs... if you take a shot at the beginning of your turn without moving it should be "aimed" and give you a better shot percentage.

They effectively do that with the sniper. Can't fire after moving, unless that ability's unlock-able.

 

[Clinkster]

Very unwhelming demo. I might wait on ordering.

 

[Agent11]

If they allow modding a free aim mod for rifles would be nice. Pretty much my only problem with the gameplay though. I liked the interface.

 

[Ganeedi]

How do you pass your turn using the controller?

Say if you move once, and dont want to move a second time? Some soldiers cant use overwatch on the second move, all i can do is use hunker down, which seems clunky. Theres no pass or am i missing it?